Re: filmscanners: Digital Copyright (off-topic) and Polaroid SS120 (on-topic)

[Stan McQueen <stan@smcqueen.com>]

>Stan, since when does the copyright office accept CDs for the required
>deposit?  I was specifically told when I called them (US Copyright Office)
>about six months ago that they wouldn't accept CDs.  They are studying the
>issue of digital registration of copyrights (with a particular concern for
>works of art "born digital"), but at the present time they still demand
>hardcopy photos (or a video tape of the photos).  Maybe someday we'll be able
>to make our copyright application entirely via the internet, complete with
>digital signature, credit card payment, and digital deposits (such as scanned
>film or photos "born digital").  But right now, we still have to do it the
>old fashioned way.  They probably threw your CDs away.  Of course, they throw
>just about all deposits away after two years, so what difference does it
>make?  Anyway, this is not the place for a long thread on this topic but I
>wanted to warn you that you may not have a legal copyright registration.  By
>the way, all US photographers who register copyrights should checkout
>http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ for the latest forms, instructions, etc.

I can only hope your source is wrong about this. Here is the information I 
have been basing my registrations on (snippet from message posted by Fred 
Ward on the EditorialPhoto list):

I spent the day yesterday in the copyright section of the Library of
Congress in Washington. I was looking for some infringements where
others may have copyrighted my work. While there I sat with two
copyright specialists and asked a number of questions that relate to
photographers and registrations.

1. My latest registration technique is to place images onto writable
CDs. Here are the rules related to registering multiple images or
collections of pictures:

Photographs on CDs are fine if all the included works have NOT been
published. You cannot register published pictures on a CD. This is
because the LofC requires a physical copy or photocopy of the published
material to accompany your registration form;

Image size and resolution are not important. The specialists said to
make them large enough to clearly be seen and recognized;

No written description is needed on the CD or on the images inside or on
the registration document. You can just put "unpublished pictures" if
you like.

MAC and PC CDs are accepted;

There is no limit to the number of pictures or number of CDs for one $30
payment;

If your pictures have been published, you have to do that on a separate
$30 registration and you have to send in a copy (photocopy usually)
showing how the pictures were used;

If the picture was published before 1989 it had to have a © copyright
notice on the picture or on the publication in order to register it now.

<End of snippet>

Stan
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Photography by Stan McQueen: http://www.smcqueen.com